Clinton opposes budget cuts that hurt US Pacific presence

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday against budget cuts that could force an abrupt pullout of the US security presence in the Pacific at a time when China's power is rising.

The debate over reducing the US debt "does cast a pall over our ability to project the kind of security interests that are in America's interests," Clinton told officers at the National Defense University.

"We need to have a responsible conversation about how we are going to prepare ourselves for the future and there are a lot of issues that are not in the headlines but are in the trendlines," she said. "We are asserting our presence in the Pacific. We are a Pacific power. That means all elements of our national security team have to be present," the chief US diplomat said in a conversation with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

"And we can't be abruptly pulling back or pulling out when we know we face some long-term challenges about how we are going to cope with what the rise of China means," she said in the conversation.

Experts said the deal to avert a US debt default should have little effect on the Pentagon's huge budget in the short term, but leaves the door open to sharp cuts that could force a strategy overhaul.

The deal signed into law by Obama on August 2 calls for at least $2.1 trillion in cuts in government spending over 10 years.

The White House said military spending will fall by $350 billion in the first round of $917 billion in cuts, in line with Pentagon expectations.

A special congressional committee has been created to come up with a second round of $1.5 trillion in further cuts from all areas. But if the bipartisan committee fails, then cuts of $1.2 trillion would automatically come into force -- divided evenly between military and non-military spending. (AFP)